Indefiniteness

A patent claim is invalid for indefiniteness if, read in light of the specification and the prosecution history, it fails to inform a person skilled in the art about the scope of the invention with reasonable certainty. The standard comes from the Supreme Court's decision in Nautilus and replaced an earlier, more forgiving test. Indefiniteness is closely bound to claim construction and is often decided in the same order: a term the court cannot construe at all is frequently a term that fails this standard. Recurring disputes involve terms of degree, subjective language, and means-plus-function limitations with no corresponding structure disclosed. The opinions here address all of these.

271 opinions and orders, showing 201–271.

• August 5, 2013 E.D. Tex. PersonalWeb Technologies LLC v. Amazon Web Services LLC et al, No. 6:11-cv-00658 (E.D. Tex. Aug. 5, 2013) Claims Construed
• August 5, 2013 E.D. Tex. PersonalWeb Technologies LLC v. NetApp, Inc., No. 6:11-cv-00657 (E.D. Tex. Aug. 5, 2013) Claims Construed
• August 5, 2013 E.D. Tex. PersonalWeb Technologies LLC v. Google, Inc. et al, No. 6:11-cv-00656 (E.D. Tex. Aug. 5, 2013) Claims Construed
• August 5, 2013 E.D. Tex. PersonalWeb Technologies LLC v. NEC Corporation of America, Inc., No. 6:11-cv-00655 (E.D. Tex. Aug. 5, 2013) Claims Construed
• July 26, 2013 Fed. Cir. Teva Pharmaceuticals USA v. Sandoz Inc., No. 12-1567 (Fed. Cir. July 26, 2013) Affirmed in Part
• July 25, 2013 E.D. Tex. Roy-G-Biv Corporation v. ABB, Ltd. et al, No. 6:11-cv-00622 (E.D. Tex. July 25, 2013) Claims Construed
• July 11, 2013 E.D. Tex. EMG Technology, LLC v. Chrysler Group, LLC, No. 6:12-cv-00259 (E.D. Tex. July 11, 2013) Denied
• June 3, 2013 Fed. Cir. Creative Integrated Systems v. Nintendo of America, No. 12-1579 (Fed. Cir. June 3, 2013) Affirmed in Part
• May 28, 2013 E.D. Tex. UltimatePointer, L.L.C. v. Nintendo Co., Ltd. et al, No. 6:14-cv-00562 (E.D. Tex. May 28, 2013) Granted in Part
• May 28, 2013 E.D. Tex. UltimatePointer, LLC v. Nintendo Co., Ltd., et al, No. 6:11-cv-00571 (E.D. Tex. May 28, 2013) Granted in Part
• May 28, 2013 E.D. Tex. UltimatePointer, L.L.C. v. Nintendo Co., Ltd. et al, No. 6:11-cv-00496 (E.D. Tex. May 28, 2013) Granted in Part
• May 21, 2013 E.D. Tex. SimpleAir, Inc. v. Microsoft Corporation et al, No. 2:11-cv-00416 (E.D. Tex. May 21, 2013) Claims Construed
• May 17, 2013 E.D. Tex. Azure Networks LLC et al v. CSR plc et al, No. 6:11-cv-00139 (E.D. Tex. May 17, 2013) Denied
• April 26, 2013 Fed. Cir. Biosig Instruments, Inc. v. Nautilus, Inc., No. 12-1289 (Fed. Cir. Apr. 26, 2013) Reversed
• April 11, 2013 E.D. Tex. Cheetah Omni LLC v. Alcatel-Lucent USA Inc. et al, No. 6:11-cv-00390 (E.D. Tex. Apr. 11, 2013) Claims Construed
• April 11, 2013 E.D. Tex. SFA Systems LLC v. Amazon.Com, Inc., et al, No. 6:11-cv-00052 (E.D. Tex. Apr. 11, 2013) Granted in Part
• April 11, 2013 E.D. Tex. SFA Systems, LLC v. 1-800-Flowers.com, Inc. et al, No. 6:09-cv-00340 (E.D. Tex. Apr. 11, 2013) Denied
• March 27, 2013 E.D. Tex. Allergan, Inc. v. Sandoz Inc, No. 6:11-cv-00441 (E.D. Tex. Mar. 27, 2013) Denied
• March 27, 2013 E.D. Tex. Net Navigation Systems, LLC v. Cisco Systems, Inc. et al, No. 4:11-cv-00660 (E.D. Tex. Mar. 27, 2013) Adopted
• January 31, 2013 E.D. Tex. Imperium (IP) Holdings, Inc. v. Apple Inc. et al, No. 4:11-cv-00163 (E.D. Tex. Jan. 31, 2013) Adopted
• January 28, 2013 E.D. Tex. Imperium (IP) Holdings, Inc. v. Apple Inc. et al, No. 4:11-cv-00163 (E.D. Tex. Jan. 28, 2013) Adopted in Part
• January 24, 2013 Fed. Cir. Ernie Ball, Inc. v. Earvana, LLC, No. 12-1276 (Fed. Cir. Jan. 24, 2013) Reversed
• January 23, 2013 E.D. Tex. TracBeam, L.L.C. v. AT&T Inc. et al, No. 6:11-cv-00096 (E.D. Tex. Jan. 23, 2013) Denied
• January 2, 2013 Fed. Cir. Lighting Ballast Control LLC v. Philips Electronics North Amer, No. 12-1014 (Fed. Cir. Jan. 2, 2013) Reversed
• December 11, 2012 E.D. Tex. Net Navigation Systems, LLC v. Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. et al, No. 4:11-cv-00662 (E.D. Tex. Dec. 11, 2012) Denied
• December 11, 2012 E.D. Tex. Net Navigation Systems, LLC v. Cisco Systems, Inc. et al, No. 4:11-cv-00660 (E.D. Tex. Dec. 11, 2012) Denied
• October 15, 2012 E.D. Tex. Alexsam, Inc. v. Best Buy Co., Inc. et al, No. 2:10-cv-00093 (E.D. Tex. Oct. 15, 2012) Adopted
• July 27, 2012 E.D. Tex. EON Corp. IP Holdings, LLC v. Skyguard, LLC et al, No. 6:11-cv-00015 (E.D. Tex. July 27, 2012) Adopted
• July 12, 2012 E.D. Tex. Advanced Display Technologies of Texas, LLC v. AU Optronics Corporation et al, No. 6:11-cv-00011 (E.D. Tex. July 12, 2012) Granted in Part
• February 27, 2012 E.D. Tex. NovelPoint Learning LLC v. Leapfrog Enterprises, Inc. et al, No. 6:10-cv-00229 (E.D. Tex. Feb. 27, 2012) Denied
• February 23, 2012 E.D. Tex. Oasis Research, LLC v. Adrive, LLC et al, No. 4:10-cv-00435 (E.D. Tex. Feb. 23, 2012) Denied
• February 3, 2012 E.D. Tex. Levine v. Samsung TeleCommunications America, LLC et al, No. 2:09-cv-00372 (E.D. Tex. Feb. 3, 2012) Claims Construed
• January 20, 2012 E.D. Tex. Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation v. Lenovo (United States) Inc. et al, No. 6:09-cv-00399 (E.D. Tex. Jan. 20, 2012) Denied
• August 22, 2011 E.D. Tex. Eolas Technologies Incorporated v. Adobe Systems Incorporated et al, No. 6:09-cv-00446 (E.D. Tex. Aug. 22, 2011) Denied
• January 5, 2011 E.D. Tex. Clear With Computers, LLC v. Hyundai Motor America, Inc., No. 6:09-cv-00479 (E.D. Tex. Jan. 5, 2011) Denied
• August 11, 2010 E.D. Tex. Mirror Worlds, LLC v. Apple, Inc., No. 6:08-cv-00088 (E.D. Tex. Aug. 11, 2010) Granted in Part
• August 4, 2010 E.D. Tex. Deep Nines, Inc. v. McAfee Inc et al, No. 9:09-cv-00089 (E.D. Tex. Aug. 4, 2010) Claims Construed
• August 2, 2010 E.D. Tex. Acqis LLC v. International Business Machines Corp, No. 6:09-cv-00148 (E.D. Tex. Aug. 2, 2010) Claims Construed
• May 7, 2010 E.D. Tex. Saxon Innovations, LLC v. Apple, Inc. et al, No. 6:08-cv-00265 (E.D. Tex. May 7, 2010) Denied
• April 27, 2010 E.D. Tex. Better Education, Inc. v. Einstruction Corporation et al, No. 2:08-cv-00446 (E.D. Tex. Apr. 27, 2010) Denied
• February 16, 2010 E.D. Tex. Network-1 Security Solutions, Inc. v. Cisco Systems, Inc. et al, No. 6:08-cv-00030 (E.D. Tex. Feb. 16, 2010) Granted in Part
• February 3, 2010 E.D. Tex. Minerva Industries, Inc. v. Motorola, Inc. et al, No. 2:07-cv-00229 (E.D. Tex. Feb. 3, 2010) Claims Construed
• January 19, 2010 E.D. Tex. Shurflo LLC v. ITT Corporation et al, No. 6:08-cv-00059 (E.D. Tex. Jan. 19, 2010) Denied
• November 30, 2009 E.D. Tex. ReedHycalog UK, Ltd. et al v. Diamond Innovations Inc, No. 6:08-cv-00325 (E.D. Tex. Nov. 30, 2009) Claims Construed
• November 4, 2009 E.D. Tex. Centocor, Inc. et al v. Abbott Laboratories, No. 2:07-cv-00139 (E.D. Tex. Nov. 4, 2009) Denied
• August 24, 2009 E.D. Tex. Realtime Data, LLC d/b/a IXO v. Packeteer, Inc. et al, No. 6:08-cv-00144 (E.D. Tex. Aug. 24, 2009) Adopted
• August 10, 2009 E.D. Tex. Good Sportsman Marketing, LLC et al v. Non Typical, Inc., No. 6:07-cv-00177 (E.D. Tex. Aug. 10, 2009) Denied
• August 10, 2009 E.D. Tex. IP Innovation, LLC. et al v. Red Hat Inc. et al, No. 2:07-cv-00447 (E.D. Tex. Aug. 10, 2009) Denied
• July 27, 2009 E.D. Tex. FotoMedia Technologies, LLC v. AOL, LLC. et al, No. 2:07-cv-00255 (E.D. Tex. July 27, 2009) Claims Construed
• July 23, 2009 E.D. Tex. Typhoon Touch Technologies, Inc et al v. Motion Computing, Inc et al, No. 6:07-cv-00546 (E.D. Tex. July 23, 2009) Granted in Part
• July 21, 2009 E.D. Tex. Johnson Matthey Inc. v. Noven Pharmaceuticals, Inc., No. 2:07-cv-00260 (E.D. Tex. July 21, 2009) Claims Construed
• July 21, 2009 E.D. Tex. FotoMedia Technologies, LLC v. Alltel Communications, Inc. et al, No. 2:07-cv-00256 (E.D. Tex. July 21, 2009) Claims Construed
• October 29, 2008 E.D. Tex. Arbitron, Inc. v. International Demographics, Inc. et al, No. 2:06-cv-00434 (E.D. Tex. Oct. 29, 2008) Granted
• October 17, 2008 E.D. Tex. Freedom Wireless, Inc. v. Dobson Communications Corp. et al, No. 2:07-cv-00151 (E.D. Tex. Oct. 17, 2008) Claims Construed
• October 17, 2008 E.D. Tex. Freedom Wireless, LLC., v. Cingular Wireless LLC et al, No. 2:06-cv-00505 (E.D. Tex. Oct. 17, 2008) Claims Construed
• July 29, 2008 E.D. Tex. Aloft Media LLC v. Adobe System Incorporated et al, No. 6:07-cv-00355 (E.D. Tex. July 29, 2008) Claims Construed
• March 13, 2008 E.D. Tex. Mass Engineered Design, Inc. et al v. Ergotron, Inc. et al, No. 2:06-cv-00272 (E.D. Tex. Mar. 13, 2008) Claims Construed
• March 13, 2008 E.D. Tex. PureChoice, Inc., v. Honeywell International, Inc.,, No. 2:06-cv-00244 (E.D. Tex. Mar. 13, 2008) Granted in Part
• January 22, 2008 E.D. Tex. PureChoice, Inc., v. Honeywell International, Inc.,, No. 2:06-cv-00244 (E.D. Tex. Jan. 22, 2008) Claims Construed
• November 27, 2007 E.D. Tex. Computer Acceleration Corporation v. Microsoft Corporation, No. 9:06-cv-00140 (E.D. Tex. Nov. 27, 2007) Denied
• September 10, 2007 E.D. Tex. ReedHycalog UK, Ltd. et al v. Baker Hughes Oilfield Operations Inc et al, No. 6:06-cv-00222 (E.D. Tex. Sept. 10, 2007) Claims Construed
• August 10, 2007 E.D. Tex. Cisco Systems, Inc. et al v. Telcordia Technologies, Inc, No. 9:06-cv-00160 (E.D. Tex. Aug. 10, 2007) Vacated & Remanded
• May 16, 2007 E.D. Tex. Tgip, Inc v. AT & T Corporation et al, No. 2:06-cv-00105 (E.D. Tex. May 16, 2007) Granted in Part
• March 23, 2007 E.D. Tex. 911EP, Inc v. Whelen Engineering Company, Inc et al, No. 2:05-cv-00137 (E.D. Tex. Mar. 23, 2007) Claims Construed
• November 28, 2006 E.D. Tex. SmartDisk Corporation v. Archos S.A. et al, No. 2:05-cv-00101 (E.D. Tex. Nov. 28, 2006) Claims Construed
• November 22, 2006 E.D. Tex. Maurice Mitchell Innovations, L.P. v. Intel Corporation, No. 2:04-cv-00450 (E.D. Tex. Nov. 22, 2006) Granted
• October 18, 2006 E.D. Tex. Halliburton Energy Services Inc v. M-I LLC, No. 6:05-cv-00155 (E.D. Tex. Oct. 18, 2006) Granted
• August 4, 2006 E.D. Tex. E-Watch, Inc et al v. March Networks Corporation, No. 9:06-cv-00025 (E.D. Tex. Aug. 4, 2006) Claims Construed
• July 12, 2006 E.D. Tex. Good Sportsman Marketing, LLC v. Testa Associates, LLC, No. 6:05-cv-00090 (E.D. Tex. July 12, 2006) Claims Construed
• December 5, 2005 E.D. Tex. Touchcom Inc et al v. Dresser Inc., No. 2:04-cv-00246 (E.D. Tex. Dec. 5, 2005) Granted
• May 24, 2005 E.D. Tex. Foundry Networks Inc v. Lucent Technologies Inc, No. 2:04-cv-00040 (E.D. Tex. May 24, 2005) Claims Construed